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In his historic statement on Thursday the King vowed he and his family would ‘continue in our duty and service to you all’ while the legal process runs its course.
Within hours, he was good to his word, hosting foreign ambassadors at St James’s Palace before making his front row debut at London Fashion Week.
Despite the strain of his brother’s arrest by police, Charles, 77, was clearly determined to get on with the business of the day.
The only sign his mind may have been on other matters was the fact he was – unusually – slightly late for the fashion event, with the headline show running 30 minutes behind schedule.
Indeed, onlookers made clear the sovereign appeared to enjoy himself as he chatted to designers and fashion industry figures in his role as founder of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, which has worked to make the British fashion and textile industry more environmentally friendly.
Was the king making a point? While that’s not his style, it was clear that Buckingham Palace was keen to remain on course.
When he arrived at 180 Studios on the Strand in central London, large crowds had gathered to greet him.
Asked by journalists: ‘Do you have any reaction to the arrest of your brother, Sir?’ and ‘Your Majesty, how are you feeling after your brother’s arrest? Have you spoken to your brother, Your Majesty?’, the King walked in without commenting.
King Charles shares a laugh with Stella McCartney as he attends the first day of London Fashion Week
Charles seems to erupt into laughter as McCartney looks at him with a shocked and amused expression
Princess Anne continued with a planned visit to a West Yorkshire prison. She arrived at HMP Leeds escorted by officers
Later, he watched a catwalk show by British-Nigerian designer Tolu Coker, who was supported by his King’s Trust Enterprise Programme in 2018. He clapped along to the music and chatted to designer Stella McCartney and Laura Weir, CEO of the British Fashion Council.
The King had earlier greeted Miss McCartney with kisses as he toured her installation on sustainable British innovation.
The designer was unveiled on Thursday as ambassador of the King’s Sustainable Markets Initiative and she showed him examples of materials she is using in her collections, including plant-based ostrich feather alternatives, plastic-free sequins and a leather substitute made from mushrooms.
She appeared to respond to a question from the King about her father, Sir Paul McCartney, saying: ‘He’s great, he’s great. You guys need to hang out.’
Asked later if she was happy to see the King, despite the breaking news about his brother, she replied: ‘Good try. I’m really proud to be the first ambassador of fashion. I’m very excited to do great things with the honour.’
Meanwhile, Princess Anne continued with a planned visit to a West Yorkshire prison, also rather stoically in the circumstances.
She arrived at HMP Leeds escorted by officers.
Although she did not meet prisoners, she did speak to staff in her role as patron of The Butler Trust, which works to improve the care and rehabilitation of inmates.
Queen Camilla merely smiled as a lone journalist fired off similar questions to those faced by her husband as she arrived at a separate engagement with young music scholars in Westminster.
Later, she hosted former Vogue editor-in-chief Dame Anna Wintour at Clarence House to discuss the work of the Queen’s Reading Room charity.
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